List of Homophones

acts/ax

ad/add

ads/adds/adz

aid/aide

ail/ale

air/heir/err

aisle/isle/I'll

all/awl

all ready/already

all together/altogether

allowed/aloud

alter/altar

ant/aunt

arc/ark

assent/ascent

assistance/assistants

ate/eight

aural/oral

away/aweigh

aye/eye

bail/bale

bait/bate

ball/bawl

band/banned

bard/barred

bare/bear

baron/barren

faze/phase 

feat/feet

find/fined

fir/fur

flair/flare

flea/flee

flew/flu/flue

flour/flower

flocks/phlox

for/four/fore

foreword/forward

fort/forte

forth/fourth

foul/fowl

friar/fryer 

gait/gate

gene/jean

gild/guild

gilt/guilt

gnu/knew/new

gored/gourd

gorilla/guerilla

grate/great

grease/Greece

groan/grown

guessed/guest

hail/hale

pause/paws

pea/pee

peace/piece

peak/peek/pique

peal/peel

pearl/purl

pedal/peddle/petal

peer/pier

per/purr

pi/pie

plait/plate

plain/plane

pleas/please

plum/plumb

pole/poll

pore/pour

pray/prey

presence/presents

prince/prints

principal/principle

profit/prophet

rack/wrack

rain/reign/rein

raise/rays/raze

rap/wrap

rapped/rapt/wrapped

read/red

base/bass

bases/basis

bazaar/bizarre

be/bee

beach/beech

beat/beet

beau/bow

bell/belle

berry/bury

billed/build

berth/birth

bite/byte

blew/blue

bloc/block

boar/bore

board/bored

boarder/border

bode/bowed

bolder/boulder

born/borne

bough/bow

bouillon/bullion

boy/buoy

bread/bred

brake/break

brewed/brood

brews/bruise

bridle/bridal

broach/brooch

hair/hare

hall/haul

halve/have

hangar/hanger

hay/hey

heal/heel/he'll

hear/here

heard/herd

heed/he'd

hertz/hurts

hew/hue/Hugh

hi/high

higher/hire

him/hymn

hoard/horde

hoarse/horse

hole/whole

holey/holy/wholly

hoes/hose

hold/holed

hostel/hostile

hour/our

idle/idol

illicit/elicit

in/inn

insight/incite

instance/instants

intense/intents

its/it's

read/reed

real/reel

reek/wreak

rest/wrest

retch/wretch

review/revue

right/rite/write

ring/wring

road/rode/rowed

roam/Rome

roe/row

role/roll

root/route

rose/rows

rote/wrote

rough/ruff

rung/wrung

rye/wry

sail/sale

scene/seen

scull/skull

sea/see

seam/seem

seas/sees/seize

serf/surf

sew/so/sow

shear/sheer

shoe/shoo

shone/shown

browse/brows

but/butt

buy/by/bye

cache/cash

callous/callus

cannon/canon

canvas/canvass

capital/capitol

carat/carrot/caret/karat

carol/carrel

cast/caste

cede/seed

ceiling/sealing

cell/sell

cellar/seller

censor/sensor

cent/scent/sent

cents/scents/sense

cereal/serial

cession/session

chance/chants

chased/chaste

cheap/cheep

chews/choose

chic/sheik

chilly/chili

choral/coral

choir/quire

chute/shoot

chord/cord

jam/jamb

colonel/kernel

knap/nap

knead/kneed/need

knight/night

knit/nit

knot/not

know/no

knows/nose

laid/lade

lain/lane

lay/lei

leach/leech

lead/led

leak/leek

lean/lien

leased/least

lee/lea

lessen/lesson

levee/levy

liar/lier/lyre

lichen/liken

lie/lye

lieu/Lou

links/lynx

load/lode

loan/lone

locks/lox

loot/lute

low/lo

side/sighed

sighs/size

slay/sleigh

sleight/slight

slew/slue/slough

soar/sore

soared/sword

sole/soul

some/sum

son/sun

staid/stayed

stair/stare

stake/steak

stationary/stationery

steal/steel

step/steppe

stile/style

straight/strait

suite/sweet

surge/serge

tacks/tax

tail/tale

taught/taut

tea/tee

team/teem

tear/tier

tern/turn

their/there/they're

theirs/there's

threw/through

cite/sight/site

clause/claws

click/clique

close/clothes/cloze

coal/cole

coarse/course

colonel/kernel

complement/compliment

coo/coup

coop/coupe

core/corps

correspondence/correspondents

council/counsel

creak/creek

crews/cruise

cruel/crewel

cue/queue

currant/current

curser/cursor

cymbal/symbol

dam/damn

days/daze

dear/deer

defused/diffused

desert (abandon)/dessert

dew/do/due

die/dye

disburse/disperse

discreet/discrete

made/maid

mail/male

main/mane/Maine

maize/maze

mall/maul

manner/manor

mantel/mantle

marry/merry/Mary

marshal/martial

massed/mast

maybe/may be

meat/meet/mete

medal/metal/mettle/meddle

might/mite

mince/mints

mind/mined

miner/minor

missed/mist

moan/mown

mode/mowed

moose/mousse

morn/mourn

muscle/mussel

mustard/mustered

naval/navel

nay/neigh

none/nun

oar/or/ore

ode/owed

thrown/throne

thyme/time

tic/tick

tide/tied

to/too/two

toad/towed

toe/tow

told/tolled

trussed/trust

vain/vane/vein

vale/veil

vary/very

vial/vile

vice/vise

wade/weighed

wail/whale

waist/waste

wait/weight

waive/wave

want/wont

ware/wear/where

way/weigh/whey

ways/weighs

we/wee

weak/week

we'll/wheel

weather/whether

we'd/weed

we've/weave

doe/dough/do (musical note)

done/dun

draft/draught

dual/duel

earn/urn

ewe/you/yew

eye/I

faint/feint

fair/fare

faun/fawn

oh/owe

one/won

overdo/overdue

overseas/oversees

pail/pale

pain/pane

pair/pare/pear

palate/palette/pallet

passed/past

patience/patients

wet/whet

which/witch

while/wile

whine/wine

who's/whose

wood/would

yoke/yolk

yore/your/you're

you'll/Yule

http://www.dyslexia.org/spelling_rules.shtml

ENGLISH SPELLING RULESShort and Long Vowels

1. To spell a short vowel sound, only one letter is needed:                  at           red            it            hot           up

2. To spell a long sound you must add a second vowel. The second may be next to the first, in the VVC pattern (boat, maid, cue, etc.) or it may be separated from the first one by a consonant in the VCV pattern (made, ride, tide, etc.). If the second vowel is separated from the first by two spaces, it does not affect the first one. This is the VCCV pattern in which the first vowel remains short. Thus, doubling a consonant can be called "protecting" a short vowel because it prevents an incoming vowel from getting close enough to the first one to change its sound from short to long: 

          maid,  made,  but  madder;            dine,  diner,  but dinner.

Spelling the Sound /k/

This sound can be spelled in any one of four ways:

1. c     2. cc     3. k        4. ck

1. The single letter, c , is the most common spelling. It may be used anywhere in a word:

cat corn actor victim direct mica

scat  bacon  public  cactus  inflict  pecan

2. Sometimes the letter c must be doubled to cc to protect the sound of a short vowel:

stucco  baccalaureate  hiccups

Mecca  tobacco  buccaneer

occupy raccoon  succulent 

3. The letter k is substituted for c if /k/ is followed by an e, i, or y.

kin  make  sketch  poker  kind  risky

skin  token  skill  keep  liking  flaky

(Boring examples? How about kyphosis, kylix, keratosis, and dyskinesia?)

4. Similarly, the spelling ck, is substituted for cc if the following letter is an e, i, or y:

lucky  picking  rocking  finicky

blackest  mackintosh  frolicked  ducking

Kentucky  picnicking  stocking  Quebecker

5. The letters, k and ck are more than substitutes for c and cc. They are used to spell /k/ at the end of a monosyllable. The digraph, ck, ALWAYS follows a short vowel:

sack  duck  lick  stick  wreck  clock

(Forget about yak. Your student will never need it.)

The letter, k, follows any other sound:

milk  soak  make  bark

tank  peek  bike  cork

tusk  hawk  duke  perk

The Sound, /j/The sound, /j/ is spelled in three ways: j ge and dge.

1. The letter j is usually used if the sound if followed by an a, o, or u.

just  jam  jungle  injure  major  adjacent 

jog  jar  Japan  jury  job  Benjamin

adjust  jacket  jolly  jaguar  jump  jalousie

2. Since the letter g has the soft sound of /j/ when it is followed by an e, i, or y, it is usually used in this situation:

gentle  ginger  aging  algebra

Egyptologist  gem  origin  gym

3. If /j/ follows a short vowel sound, it is usually spelled with dge. This is because the letter j, is never doubled in English.

badge  ridge  dodge  partridge  gadget

judge  edge  smudge  judgement  budget

The Sound, /ch/

The sound /ch/ has two spellings: tch after a short vowel, ch anywhere else:

witch  sketch  botch  satchel

catch  hatchet  kitchen  escutcheon

Exceptions:Which, rich, much, such, touch, bachelor, attach, sandwich, and ostrich.

The Sound, /kw/This sound is ALWAYS spelled with the letters, qu, never anything else.

Using -le

Words ending in -le, such as little, require care. If the vowel sound is short, there must be two consonants between the vowel and the -le. Otherwise, one consonant is enough.

li tt le ha nd le ti ck le a mp le

bo tt le pu zz le cru mb le a ng le

bugle able poodle dawdle  needle  idle  people

Odds and Ends

1. The consonants, v, j, k, w, and x are never doubled.2. No normal English words ends with the letter v. A final /v/ is always spelled with ve, no matter what the preceding vowel sound may be:

have  give  sleeve  cove 

receive  love  connive  brave 

Adding Endings

There are two kinds of suffixes, those that begin with a vowel and those that begin with a consonant. As usual, the spelling problems occur with the vowels: 

Vowel Suffixes   Consonant Suffixes

- - - age  - - -ist  - - - ness - - - cess

- - - ant  - - - ish  - - -less - - -ment

- - -ance  - - -ing  - - -ly  - - -ty

- - - al - - -ar  - - -ful  - - -ry

 - - -ism  - - -o  - - -hood  - - -ward

- - -able  - - -on  - - -wise  

- - -an - - -ous    

- - - a  - - -or    

- - -es  - - -ual    

- - -ed  - - -unt    

- - -er - - -um    

- - -est   - - -us    

- - -y  - - -ive    

1. Words that end in the letter y must have the y changed to i before adding any suffix:

body - bodily  marry - marriage 

many - manifold  family -  familiar 

happy - happiness puppy - puppies

beauty - beautiful  vary - various  

company - companion fury - furious 

plenty - plentiful  merry - merriment

2. In words that end in a silent e you must drop it before you add a vowel suffix. The silent e is no longer needed to make the preceding vowel long as the incoming vowel will do the trick:

ride - riding  cure - curable  use - usual  age - aging 

fame - famous  force - forcing  refuse -  refusal  slice - slicing

pure - purity  ice - icicle nose - nosy  convince - convincing

globe - global  race - racist  pole - polar  offense - offensive

 3. Words that end in an accented short or modified vowel sound must have the final consonant doubled to protect that sound when you add a vowel suffix:

Quebec - Quebecker remit - remittance  confer - conferring  refer - referred 

upset - upsetting  shellac - shellacking occur - occurred  concur- concurrent

Note that this doubling is not done if the accent is not on the last syllable. If the word ends in a schwa, there is no need to "protect" it.

open - opening  organ - organize 

focus - focused refer - referee 

4. Normally you drop a silent e before adding a vowel suffix. However, if the word ends in -ceor -ge and the incoming vowel is an a, o, or u, you cannot cavalierly toss out that silent e. It is not useless: it is keeping its left-hand letter soft, and your a, o, or u will not do that. Thus:

manage - manageable  peace - peaceable 

courage - courageous  revenge - vengeance

surge - surgeon  change - changeable 

notice - noticeable  outrage - outrageous

Gorgeous George bludgeoned a pigeon noticeably! Tsk.

5. Adding consonant suffixes is easy. You just add them. (Of course you must change a final y to i before you add any suffix.)

peace - peaceful   harm - harmless   age - ageless

pity - pitiful  child - childhood rifle - riflery

/sh/

When this sound occurs before a vowel suffix, it is spelled ti, si, or ci.

partial  cautious  patient  vacation

special  deficient  suspicion  suction

inertia  delicious  ratio  pension

musician  physician  optician  quotient

electrician  nutrition  statistician  expulsion

/ee/ before a vowel suffix

When /ee/ precedes a vowel suffix, it is usually spelled with the letter i:

Indian  obvious  medium

ingredient  zodiac  material

Spelling Determined by Word Meaning

1. Mist and missed sound alike, as do band and banned. To determine the spelling, remember that -ed is a past-tense tending.

a. The mist drifted into the harbor.b. I nearly missed my bus.c. The movie was banned in Boston.d. The band played on.

2. The endings of dentist and finest sound alike. Deciding which one to use can be tricky. One rule helps but doesn't cover all cases:

a. --ist is a suffix meaning someone who does something:   artist    -   machinist    -   druggist

b. --est is the ending used on superlative adjectives:   finest    -   sweetest    -   longest

3. The sounds at the end of musician and condition sound alike. but....

a. cian always means a person, where...b. tion or sion are never used for people.

4. How do you tell whether to use tion or sion?

a. If the root word ends in /t/, use -tion: complete, completionb. If the root word ends in /s/ or /d/, use sion: extend, extension

suppress, suppressionc. If the sound of the last syllable is the "heavy" sound of /zhun/ rather than the light sound, /shun/,

use s: confusion, vision, adhesion

Exception: The ending, --mit becomes -mission:

permit - permission  omit - omission

submit - submission  commit - commission

The Hiss

1. The letter s between vowels sounds like a z:

nose  result  noise

present  partisan  tease

preside  resound  reserve

2. The light "hissy" sound is spelled with either ss or ce. Predictably, ss, like any proper doubled consonant, follows accented short vowels. Soft c is used anywhere else. (A soft c is one that is followed by e, i, or y).

notice  reticent  massive bicycle 

recent  gossip russet  rejoice 

essence vessel  discuss  pass

3. The plural ending is always spelled with a single letter s unless you can hear a new syllable on the plural word. In that case, use -es:

loss, losses bank, banks  twitch, twitches tree, trees

box, boxes list, lists  judge, judges